


Familial Comfort

by afteriwake



Series: Stuff Of Improbable Legends [61]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Advice, Comforting James, Conversations, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Issues, Fighting Parents, Fights, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Jealous McCoy, Parents Molly Hooper/Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Past Molly Hooper/Khan Noonien Singh, Relationship Advice, Relationship Discussions, Sad McCoy, Sad Molly, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-11
Updated: 2016-05-11
Packaged: 2018-06-07 21:19:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6824752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James is just finishing making sure his mom is okay the morning after Daisy gets shot when he gets an unexpected visit from his dad. But maybe it'll all turn out better than he expects it to...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Familial Comfort

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sideofrawr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sideofrawr/gifts).



> So this is a roleplay log/fic I wrote that got posted a week or so back that I just forgot to post here, that I'm rectifying and posting today because **sideofrawr** needs the distraction. ::snuggles::

“You going to be okay, Mom?” James asked for what had to have been the millionth time since the night before. She’d come over, her clothes covered in blood, and as soon as Livvy had ushered her off into a bath and given her a fresh pair of pajamas the three of them had hunkered down on the sofa and just stayed up and watched movies all night. His sister had a few of her favorite movies so he’d spent most of the night watching romantic comedies, which normally he’d tease the hell out of his sister for having but he knew it was a good thing she had on hand. He’d gone out and picked up a couple bottles of wine of his mom’s favorite brand while Livvy called for some late night takeaway.

They’d avoided talking about all the crap going on last night, just kind of ignoring everything, but when Livvy went to the clinic and it had just been him and his mom they’d had a pretty honest conversation about everything. She’d been really shaken up about everything with Daisy the night before, even though Adrian had managed to save her, and then with Amelia and Khan both being there that wasn’t helping matters. The rift between her and his father didn’t help, he knew that too, but she was coping.

She nodded, gathering her things. Livvy was a bit smaller, but she had given their mom something to wear that was clean until she could get to the hotel suite for a different change of clothes. “I’ll be fine, James. I promise. I already let John know I was going to take today off and I left a message for your father. I’m going to take the day to just try and gather my thoughts and relax a bit. I promise, it will be all right.” She came over and gave him a hug and he hugged her back. No matter what growing up, that had been the one thing he’d always been able to count on, that his mom would always be there to comfort him. He just wished she’d let him do the same for once. 

Eventually, she pulled away a bit and he looked over at her. “Look, if you want dinner tonight or something...”

His mom shook her head and gave him a smile. “Keep Zoe nice and close if you can. I get the feeling that will annoy Amelia all the more, and anything that does that will make me exceedingly happy, as I imagine it will do for you as well.” She had her hands on his arms and looked at him. “Are you absolutely sure you want the baby for as long as she’s here?”

He nodded. “That was the one thing that just...” he looked down. “Everyone tried to understand how I felt but no one really got it except her dad. I mean, you and Dad did, kind of. And Livvy, too, but...”

She nodded and hugged him again. “No, I think I understand what you’re trying to say,” she said. “Whatever you want, I’ll support you one hundred percent. All right?”

“Thanks, Mom,” he said. She let go completely this time and then headed to the door. He opened the door and was surprised to see his dad standing there, ready to knock on the door. “Oh. Uh...hi, Dad.”

“James,” he said with a nod. Then he looked back behind him and saw Molly there and rubbed the back of his neck slightly. “Molly.”

“Leonard,” she said quietly. She picked up the wad of bloodied clothes and then made her way to the door. “I’ll speak to you later, James, if you need too.”

“Alright,” he said, watching his mom squeeze by his dad, and the look on both of their faces like they wanted to talk but just didn’t know how to start the conversation. He loved them, he did, but damn it, they were being so stupid about the whole thing. Once she was gone his dad came in and looked around. “You never got the chance to see this place, really, did you? I mean, when it was in Lawrence?”

His dad shook his head. “Not really. The earthquake had leveled the property by the time I showed up, I think.”

“Ah,” James said, shutting the door behind him. He was at a slight loss for words. “Did you come by to check up on mom?”

“No. Came by to check up on you, actually. Livvy’s...not actually talking to me any more than she has to,” he said, running a hand through his hair. 

“She and Mom are close,” he said.

“Seems both of you are closer to your mom than you are to me,” he said with a sigh. “I’m not the greatest parent, am I?”

“I don’t know if it’s that,” James said. “With us, it’s the fact we’re just really similar. I mean, I’m kind of a combination of some of your and Uncle Jim’s worst qualities, and when we’d get into arguments we’d both know just which buttons to push to get a rise out of each other. But when Amelia started pulling the crap she did, and I started being more like you in a way you never wanted me to be, we got pretty close. If things had kept going the way they were, I think eventually we’d have forgotten all about the rough and turbulent teen years.”

“Good to know,” he said as they drifted towards the couch and sat down. “And me and Livvy?”

He weighed out his choice of words carefully. “I think it’s going to be...different,” he said finally. “I think, in all honesty, from where I come from you were more accepting of her choice in boyfriend, I guess? And it helped that Mom had grown to love him. I...don’t really see that being the scenario here. I don’t know.”

His dad grunted slightly. “You two sure do know how to pick ‘em,” he said. 

He let the initial surge of annoyance at his dad’s words slide because honestly? His dad had a point. “Yeah, but look at you and mom. Your first choices sucked too. Well, your first choice did. Mom’s had a couple more before you who weren’t great.”

McCoy’s jaw clenched. “Yeah, I know.”

“He never showed up in the other timeline or alternate universe or whatever the hell it is Livvy and I are from, you know,” James said. “You two never talked about him, but he never showed up. Even when Mom tried to convince you that the heart wants who the heart wants when you caught Matt and Livvy together, she didn’t bring up his name. It was just kind of a...taboo topic. Her ex-fiancee she’d talk about, Sherlock and Moriarty she’d talk about, but never _him_.”

McCoy looked down. “He wants her back,” he said.

“Yeah, but she doesn’t want _him_ ,” James said. “Like, absolutely not at all.” He watched his father lift his head up. “Look. I know you think she’s still in love with him. But you told me once she can still love him and not be _in_ love with him, one time when we were both a little drunk and being open and honest about things. And you said you could live with that. And I realize that’s about twenty years down the line or so, give or take, but could it be so hard for you to live with now? If she even _is_ still in love with him which honestly? I’m not sure she is. I think you’ve got a death grip on her heart that he can’t even touch.”

His dad was quiet for a moment. “If I don’t, though?”

James shook his head. “Dad, I hate to say this, but I just watched the two of you a few minutes ago and if you _honestly_ think there’s a chance she’s going to go back to him then you’re a fucking idiot.”

“You watch your mouth,” McCoy said.

“Sorry, but you are,” James said with a shrug. “And I’m almost twenty-two and I live on my own. It’s not like you can ground me or take away my allowance. I showed up with my trust fund and as I’ve had full control of it since I turned twenty-one you can’t touch it.”

McCoy shook his head. “You really are the bastard lovechild of me and Jim,” he said with a begrudging grin.

“Oh yeah. One day when all of this is settled I’m going to sit everyone down for a family dinner and Livvy and I can tell stories, if you and Mom don’t mind potential spoilers. With what happened with Chris and Rhea and the baby versions of themselves, I doubt any of the things will actually happen now. But who knows?”

McCoy nodded. “That could be a good evening,” he said. He settled into the sofa a bit more. “I don’t have much time left on my lunch, but I came to make sure you were okay. So...let’s talk about you, okay? You’re absolutely sure you want to take care of this baby if this tramp has the baby while she’s here?”

James nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I’m absolutely sure. If things are going to change by her being here and this is my only chance, even if it’s for just a day, I want that chance.” He tilted her head. “Are you going to try and talk me out of it?”

His dad shook his head. “Nope. I’m kinda young to be a grandfather but if it’s what you want I’ll do whatever I can to make sure it happens.”

James relaxed a bit and then gave his father a small grin. “Thanks.” It helped to know that even with the rift between them, both of his parents were on his side, and that helped a lot. That made him feel better about the situation and his chances of having a better outcome than he had had in his own timeline. He just hoped that it worked out better and he wasn’t brokenhearted again.


End file.
